Party insists it is following evidence, not poll ratings, as Nick Clegg
disowns Coalition welfare policy and attacks Tory Europe policy

Nick Clegg today disowned a major plank of the Coalition’s welfare reforms as he sought to differentiate himself from David Cameron and revive his party’s dismal poll ratings.

After marching in step with George Osborne’s austerity programme for four years, the Liberal Democrat leader announced he now opposes the so-called bedroom tax.

The policy – officially known as the spare room subsidy – will be radically watered down in the next Liberal Democrat manifesto, meaning claimants only have their housing benefit docked if they refuse to move to a smaller house.

Senior Conservatives were angered and amused by the move, and said Mr Clegg is showing "remarkable contempt" for the principle of collective responsibility that means Cabinet ministers must defend government policies in public.

In further attacks on his Coalition partners, Mr Clegg said the “headbangers have won” in Mr Cameron’s reshuffle after a number of eurosceptics were promoted.

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He said David Cameron will “line up with Vladimir Putin and other tyrants” if he goes ahead with manifesto plans to limit the reach of the European Court of Human Rights in Britain.

He welcomed the removal of Michael Gove as education secretary, saying he “denigrated” and “offended” teachers by dismissing them as “folk who don’t want to do their best”.

Mr Clegg also broke with the Foreign Office’s official stance on Israel, accusing the Jewish state of a “deliberately disproportionate” response in Gaza that amounts to “collective punishment.”

Today the Liberal Democrat leader will unveil plans to force large companies to reveal how much they pay male and female employees in order to reduce the gender pay gap.

The policy – like the spare room subsidy – places the Liberal Democrats closer to Labour in the case of a future hung parliament. It was passed into law by Gordon Brown under the Equality Act but never enacted by the Government.

A recent poll put the Liberal Democrats on six per cent, and the party is focussed on holding onto a core of seats in its heartlands. The 'bedroom tax' and Mr Gove are deeply unpopular with many Lib Dem loyalists.

It came as it was reported that David Cameron is ready to form a minority government in the case of a hung parliament rather than forming a new Coalition.

A number of senior backbenches would like the Coalition to break up now, to allow both parties to regain their distinct identities.

Nick Clegg voted for the Welfare Reform Act 2012 that brought in the policy.

He said his mind was changed Department for Work and Pensions report which showed docking council tenants’ benefits if they have unused rooms has not encouraged people to move home, but has caused people to cut back on food and heating.

The party is following changing evidence, not chasing poll ratings, a source insisted, adding it is “natural” that they will set out different policy positions in the months leading up to next May’s election.

Mr Clegg insisted he had been “constantly badgering away within the Government” to have the policy properly tested.

But Downing Street said the policy would remain in place, and said the Prime Minister and Chancellor were unaware of Mr Clegg’s proposals before they were announced.